Fade to Light
by Hippie In A Chevy
Summary: Rob Atkinson is born and raised in a Dark Arts oriented family, and now it’s time for him to start his education at Doomhallow Academy of the Dark Arts. What will happen now?
1. Default Chapter

Rob Atkinson came from a respectable enough family, it seemed. The Atkinsons were always donating money, though to what was unknown, and were friendly to just about everyone in town. They were well liked, certainly, and strangers passing through the pub would always hear nothing but wonderful things about them. The Atkinsons, it seemed, were almost perfect. The last people anyone would suspect of having anything to do with the Dark Arts.  
  
George Atkinson threw down An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe. "He's not going to this Hogwarts place, no matter how good you say it is, Erica. Our son will go to Doomhallow. Nowhere else is acceptable. Is this understood?"  
  
"No," Erica snapped back. "I keep telling you that place isn't safe anymore, what with Master's downfall and all—"  
  
"It's been ten bloody years!" shouted George. "If they were going to—to storm it, or anything drastic, they would have done it already!"  
  
"That's what they want you to think! You know what I've told you over and over, those Aurors are just waiting to catch us off guard—"  
  
"And you know what I've been telling you. You're just being paranoid!"  
  
Rob Atkinson signed resignedly and watched his parents bicker. The house had been a war zone for as long as he could remember, but this past year the fighting had escalated to a fever pitch. Mother would suggest yet another random magic school for Rob, and his father would firmly stick by Doomhallow Academy of the Dark Arts. Tomorrow was September first, the beginning of term, and Rob's parents were still arguing about the school he would attend. It was rather silly, in his opinion. Either way his whole future was already planned out for him. He would go to school for seven years, and upon graduation be accepted into Voldemort's Inner Circle. Rob never pointed out to his parents how absurd the idea was, as Voldemort had been gone for ten whole years. They would practically disown him for even a word against their precious "Master."  
  
Not that Rob wasn't excited about the prospect, it sounded wonderful to him to be able to purge the wizarding world of those filthy mudbloods. Though, Rob thought, it would be even more wonderful if he were the leader of it all, instead of just a mere underling. He toyed with the idea of overthrowing Voldemort and becoming the new Dark Lord. It was one of his favourite fantasies, and always brought a smile to his face.  
  
"HE'S GOING TO DOOMHALLOW AND THAT'S FINAL!" Rob's father bellowed. Mother let out a sharp cry as he smacked her across the face. He stormed across the floor towards her, and she shrunk back in fear, knowing what was coming.  
  
Rob calmly got up and went up the stairs to his room. He guessed Father had had a few drinks too many at the pub before coming home from work. That wasn't unusual, of course, but combined with today's anger, it would probably prove harmful to Rob if he stayed in his father's sight much longer.  
  
Rob shut the door behind him. He walked over to his mirror, and examined his reflection closely. He wasn't very handsome by any standards, but not completely ugly either. He was tall, and a bit scrawny for his age, but he had smooth, dark brown hair that fell over his face, hiding his hazel eyes. His eyes were his best feature, and he knew it, but he couldn't make his hair behave for the life of him. He sighed and tried in vain to push it out of his face, knowing better than to expect it to stay there. It was just a habit he had, brushing it away whenever his hands weren't occupied.  
  
"It's no use there, sonny," cackled the old antique mirror. "You'd be better off bald!"  
  
"Oh, shut up," he sneered, and let his hair fall back over his eyes.  
  
The mirror chuckled. "Always were a vain one, eh? Can't stand for anyone to point out your faults."  
  
Rob was about to respond with a biting remark, but he heard quiet sobbing and the sound of tiny feet coming up the stairs. The feet turned right at the top, into the bathroom. He heard the tap coming on, and then the rustle of clothes that meant someone was leaning over the sink. He wasn't unused to these noises; they usually followed his parents' arguments. His mother was just nursing her wounds, like she always did after a fight with Father.  
  
Rob turned his back to the critical mirror and blew out the candle. "Goodnight, you," he muttered under his breath. The mirror did not reply.  
  
Rob ignored this and slid into bed, letting visions of power and wealth ease him to sleep. After all, even future evil overlords need their rest. 


	2. Default Chapter Name

Rob got a rather rude awakening the next morning.  
  
"Get up!" urged his father. "You're going to be late for school if we don't hurry!"  
  
Rob sat straight up in bed, blinking his tired eyes. "What? What school am I going to?" he yawned.  
  
Father slapped him. "Doomhallow, of course! Don't ask such stupid questions!" He stormed out of the room, and Rob heard him go downstairs.  
  
Rob muttered angrily and rubbed his cheek where he had been slapped, then got out of bed. He had his suitcase packed and ready; he had prepared it a week beforehand so he wouldn't have to waste time packing in case something like this came up. It was a good thing he liked to plan ahead, thought Rob, because Father could turn awfully nasty when upset. Mother was living proof of that.  
  
Rob slipped on his robes and quickly ran his fingers through his hair, then went downstairs to eat breakfast.  
  
His father was waiting for him at the table. "Eat quickly!" he instructed, shoving a plate over to him. "We're running late already, hurry!"  
  
Rob took a few strips of bacon and a biscuit and wolfed them down as fast as he could. He wasn't too eager to get another slap.  
  
His mother leaned over and took his plate from the table. When she pulled back up, her sleeve slid down and Rob saw a rather large, nasty looking black bruise on her forearm. He made the mistake of staring at it a bit too long.  
  
Mother turned around and saw her looking at him. Her eyes widened and she yanked the sleeve back down, causing her to drop the plate. It hit the floor with a crash, and pieces of broken glass scattered all over the floor.  
  
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU WOMAN?" Father roared as he rose angrily from his chair and grabbed her bruised arm. Mother winced in pain at first, but then her expression turned to pure terror. Rob thought she resembled a caught rabbit.  
  
Father slammed her against the wall. "You clean that mess up now, do you hear me? We're not leaving until it's all in the trash, so if we're late it will be your fault!"  
  
Mother nodded vigorously, then darted for the dustpan. She swept the broken glass frantically into a pile, then into the dustpan, and emptied it all in the trash. She laid the empty dustpan on the counter and looked at Father hopefully for approval.  
  
To her surprise, he came over and slapped her hard across the face. "GET THAT FILTHY THING OFF MY CLEAN COUNTER!"  
  
Tears running down her face, she complied, and hung it back in its usual spot on the wall.  
  
"Honestly woman, you are so stupid. Now come on, you've probably made us late." Father turned his back to her and headed to the fireplace. He grabbed a bit of Floo Powder from a small box on the counter and threw it into the flames. "Doomhallow Academy!" he shouted, and disappeared.  
  
Mother walked up to the fireplace, but didn't go in. Instead, she turned to face Rob and pulled out a small book from her pocket. It was An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe. She stopped, as if considering something, then walked back over to Rob and put it in his hand. "Take this and put it in your suitcase, quick!" she instructed.  
  
"What for?" Rob asked. "I'm going to Doomhallow, why do I need this?"  
  
Mother pursed her lips and said, "I just don't think it suits you. And what if those awful Aurors come and storm the school? How would you ever finish your education?"  
  
Rob raised his eyebrow at her. "Sorry Mother, but I'm going to have side with Father on this one. You're just being paranoid."  
  
She squatted down a few inches, so she was eye level with him. "It can't hurt," she said. "Take it…please? For me?" She looked so pathetic at that moment that Rob wanted to give her a good slap as well.  
  
"Alright," Rob agreed. "I'll take the stupid thing if it'll shut you up." Rob stuffed the book tightly into his suitcase, and then looked at his mother. She had her lips pursed again, as if she were deep in thought, but did not reply.  
  
Finally, she turned around and went into the flames. "Doomhallow Academy," she said it in a dead tone of voice, and was gone.  
  
It was Rob's turn now. He stepped into the emerald fire, and said, "Doomhallow Academy!"  
  
It felt like he was rushing along through a long, twisting tunnel, but the sensation didn't nauseate him like it used to when he was small. He kept his elbows tucked in tightly, and his eyes squeezed shut. After a few seconds, he fell out of a surprisingly clean fireplace, and landed right on his nose. He stood up and rubbed it, then pulled his hand away to get his first glimpse of Doomhallow Academy.  
  
"Well, well. Quite an entrance, Mr. Atkinson," came a cold voice, dripping with sarcasm. It belonged to a stately looking young man behind a desk, with black hair pulled back into a ponytail and piercing grey eyes. His spindly fingers were drumming softly on the wood.  
  
"Yes, yes," Father cleared his throat rather loudly. "Well, I can assure you, Headmaster Kain, he will be head of the class within a week—"  
  
Headmaster Kain put his hand up. "You're assuming, of course, that I let him in at all. We usually don't let people in the first day of term." He paused, and an amused grin spread across his face. "Also…I believe I was addressing your son? Rob, isn't it?" His steely grey eyes flicked over to Rob.  
  
"Yes," Rob said confidently. This Headmaster was intimidating, but that was all the more reason to look completely unafraid.  
  
The smile quickly vanished from Kain's face. "What was that again?" he asked, his voice deadly quiet.  
  
Rob gulped. "Yes…" he repeated uncertainly. What had he done wrong?  
  
Kain got up from his chair and marched over to Rob, then put his finger under Rob's chin and lifted it. "You will address me as 'Sir' from now on. Is this understood?" Rob felt like he was about to melt under the teacher's icy glare.  
  
"Yes," Rob answered quickly. "I mean, yes sir!"  
  
Kain smirked at him, then turned to face Father. "This one has a lot to learn, but I daresay we'll make a Death Eater out of him yet. He certainly has enough…potential."  
  
Rob shuddered involuntarily at the emphasis on the last word.  
  
"So. He's accepted then?" Father extended his hand to Kain.  
  
Kain took Father's hand firmly and shook it. "Yes. Your son will proceed to the Great Hall with the other students and continue his schedule normally."  
  
"Then our business here is done." With that, his Father pinched a bit of Floo Powder from his pocket and tossed it into the fire, then stepped in and was gone. Mother followed behind, but Rob caught a glimpse of her defeated face before she disappeared.  
  
It suddenly struck him that he had been left alone in the same room as Headmaster Kain.  
  
Kain came from behind grabbed his shoulder. "You do understand that your parents have paid me a substantial amount of money to allow you into this school on such short notice?" he whispered in Rob's ear.  
  
Rob nodded, even though he had not been told anything of the sort.  
  
"Good. And of course you are familiar with the school rules?"  
  
Rob nodded again. He would have to borrow a copy off someone once he got to his dorm.  
  
"Excellent!" Kain's face broke into a grin, and he slapped Rob heartily on the back. "I'm sure you'll do just fine here, then!"  
  
That was the absolute last thing Rob had expected from someone like Kain. "Yes sir!" he agreed, and moved quickly toward the door.  
  
Kain leaned over and caught his shoulder again. "Oh, and Atkinson?" The grin had turned into a smirk.  
  
"Yes sir?" Rob asked nervously, wishing more than anything that he could be out of Kain's sight.  
  
"Try to keep off my bad side."  
  
Rob nodded vigorously. "Oh, yes—yes sir, I most certainly will—"  
  
"You are dismissed!" Kain barked and shoved Rob out the door, locking it behind him.  
  
Rob just stared blankly at the closed door for a moment. He was thoroughly confused, but for the most part, just glad to be out of Kain's office. 


End file.
